Which plank from the democratic platform would you like to see gone?

[Gringo]

I pretty much agree with the whole platform, but I'm just wondering.

[el_gato]

1. gun control is a loser

it alienates many would be voters who can't get past that issue

[Hippo_Tron]

12. Except that most people would agree with democrats on gun control...

If the NRA didn't brainwash them into thinking that we are going to take away their guns and then they will have no way to defend themselves from the evil government.

[jpgray]

2. Well, it depends on what "Commitment to a Strong Nat'l Defense" means

If it means strong enough to use our soldiers for forcing our business interests somewhere they aren't wanted, then I'm not for it. If it means strong enough to defend our country and the Bill of Rights, then I completely agree.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

3. the drug war

The Drug War is not a war against drugs, its a war against personal freedoms. Somehow democrats always argue that the right to have an abortion is a woman's individual right - that it is a right stemming from a woman's control over her own body, but when it comes to drugs Democrats are just as good as Repubs at locking up the poor, the working-class, and the minorities -- all over a decision they have made with their own bodies.

[jpgray]

6. Another good choice (nt)

[sweetheart]

9. Abolishing the DEA and ending the war... seconded

For all the arguments made eloquently in this link:

http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb108/hb108-17.pdf

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

4. well, damn, I support the whole platform

I think we need to lay off gun control (good for Dean) and tone down the culture war rhetoric (so we don't sound like Buchanan in reverse). Other than that, it looks like I'm a mainstream Democrat. :)

[alexwcovington]

5. Gun Control most certainly

We can't win with it and it puts us on the wrong side of a lot of people that would otherwise be wholeheartedly agreeing with us.

People take constitutional rights seriously and while we can argue until the cows come home that gun ownership "isn't a constitutional right," nobody has bought it, nobody is going to buy it, we should drop it right now.

[Gringo]

8. Dem Gun Policy has mostly been pretty reasonable...

I'm all for banning assault weapons. Handguns should require a license, and hunting rifles should be registered when bought. I don't think that's so extreme. Nobody needs an AK-47 to hunt deer.

[ecstatic]

7. any association with groups like PETA

[ldoolin]

10. I voted for "other"...

...and that "other" that I'd like to see the Democratic Party distance ourselves from as far as possible is three things:

1. "Tough on crime" policies, such as mandatory minimum sentencing and more prisons
2. Universal gun registration/licensing, or any further expansion of the current gun laws
3. Continuation of drug prohibition, especially marijuana


My positions on those issues:

1. Cut the federal and state prison population back to what it was in 1970 - and then cap it at that level. Right now it's at 8 to 10 times what it was in 1970. The quick and easy way this can be accomplished is to see #3 below.
2. This is not a liberal/progressive issue and never should have become one.
and
3. Legalize 'em.

[David__77]

11. Overzealous gun control.

Nix that plank. It's not needed--the current laws are acceptable.

[cosmicdot]

13. is there a link to the 2004 platform?